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SpongeBob SquarePants
This article is about the series. For the protoganist of this series, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character). SpongeBob SquarePants is a popular animated television series created by marine biologist/animator Stephen Hillenburg. The premiere first aired in the US on Nickelodeon after Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. It officially aired on July 17 of the same year with the second episode "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants". The main characters is a sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants; his dumb starfish pal Patrick Star; the stingy octopus Squidward Tentacles; the cheapskate crab Mr. Krabs; and the overly hyper squirrel Sandy Cheeks, who wears an astronaut suit all the time and is characterized as a south westerner. Most episodes take place in the town of Bikini Bottom or the surrounding lagoon floor, islets, deep, or at their own houses. In 2008, the show unveiled its new logo. The cartoon is designed to appeal to older viewers as much as to children. This has a lot to do with the way underwater life and situations are represented, absurdly, as though they are almost equivalent to normal terrestrial lifestyles. Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats—with wheels of course. Once, while on a camping trip, Patrick questions how they could have a camp fire on the lagoon bottom—the fire is immediately extinguished with a sizzle. A flurry of bubbles accompany many actions, just to remind the viewer everything is underwater. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple, while his neighbour Squidward lives in an Easter Island head and Patrick lives under a rock. The suggestion is that both have fallen from a tropical island to become underwater habitats. Spongebob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, who only meows like a cat, though characters have shown signs of being able to understand him. As such, worms are the undersea equivalent of dogs. Scallops are the equivalent of birds, as they "fly" and are kept in cages. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees as they buzz and sting, and are used for their jelly. but are collected or appreciated like butterflies The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the first and currently only theatrical film based on the series, was released on 19 November 2004. According to Square Roots, the movie was also the reason for the long hiatus between "Pranks a Lot" and "Fear of a Krabby Patty". Popularity SpongeBob SquarePants has gained a loyal international following with children and adults alike. Merchandise based on the show, for instance, ranges from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kellogg's Cereal, and video games to boxer shorts, pajamas, and t-shirts. It has become a favorite cartoon for television viewers. There have been kids meal tie-ins at Wendy's and Burger King restaurants, so much so when a SpongeBob SquarePants movie promotion ran in 2004, thieves stole nine-foot-high by nine-foot-wide SpongeBob inflatables, wanting Krabby Patties as ransom, and signed by someone who claims to be Sheldon J. Plankton. He was also featured on VH1's I Love the 90s: Part Deux: 1999 as part of a commentary by Michael Ian Black. More recently, a tie-in beverage for 7-Eleven convenience stores has been created, a pineapple-flavored Slurpee. SpongeBob is the first "low budget" Nickelodeon cartoon, according to the network, to become extremely popular. Long had low-budget cartoons been living in the shadow of Rugrats, but SpongeBob aired in 1999 and almost immediately became more popular. SpongeBob is the fourth Nickelodeon show to attract "older" followers (the first was Rocko's Modern Life, whose executive producer was SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, then the Kablam! skit Action League Now!, then The Angry Beavers, then SpongeBob, and after SpongeBob, The Fairly OddParents, and Invader ZIM took a similar role when they aired in 2001 and the former is now second only to SpongeBob in popularity). SpongeBob is onein a long line of shows to include more "adult" references, and has become so popular with the adult crowd that it has been shown on MTV and Spike TV. A certain quote by Patrick ("It's gonna rock!") has been used as a promo for rock stations. Theme Song The theme song, a sea shanty-style tune is sung by Pat Pinney and can also be found on the soundtrack, SpongeBob SquarePants: Original Theme Highlights. A cover of the song by superstar Avril Lavigne can be found on [[The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (soundtrack)|the soundtrack for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie]]. There was also a choral version done for the early episodes. For several special episodes, the theme song was altered to fit the plot of the episode, such as in "Christmas Who" and "Whatever Happened to SpongeBob?". History / Production Cast * Tom Kenny: SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, French Narrator, Patchy the Pirate, a Squid * Dee Bradley Baker: Squilliam Fancyson, Various Squids, Customers, Vendors * Rodger Bumpass: Squidward Tentacles * Bill Fagerbakke: Patrick Star * Carolyn Lawrence: Sandy Cheeks * Clancy Brown: Eugene Krabs * Doug Lawrence (a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence): Sheldon J. Plankton, Larry Lobster * Lori Alan: Pearl Krabs * Mary Jo Catlett: Poppy Puff * Ernest Borgnine: Mermaid Man * Tim Conway: Barnacle Boy * Stephen Hillenburg: Potty * Brian Doyle-Murray: The Flying Dutchman * Charles Nelson Reilly: The Dirty Bubble * Marion Ross: Grandma Squarepants * Jill Talley: Karen, Plankton's computer wife. Additional voices in the movie * Scarlett Johansson: Princess Mindy * Jeffrey Tambor: King Neptune * Alec Baldw * Stephen Hillenburg: Creator/Executive Producer (1999-2004) * Derek Drymon: Creative Director/Writer/Story Editor/Executive Producer (2004-Present) * Sherm Cohen: Art Director/Writer/Executive Prouducer (2005-Present) * Paul Tibbitt: Writer/Storyboard Director/Backing Voice Actor * Merriwether Williams: Story Editor/Writer * Doug Lawrence (Mr. Lawrence): Writer/Story Editor/Voice Of Plankton and Larry * Chuck Klein: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Jay Lender: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Sam Henderson: Writer/Storyboard Director * Kaz: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Aaron Springer: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * C.H. Greenblatt: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Bradley Carow: Music * David Wigforss: Special Effects (CG visual effects animator) * Caleb Muerer: Art Director * Andy Rheingold: Executive in Charge of Production * Tim Hill: Writer * Eric Wiese: Writer/Storyboard Artist * Mark O'Hare: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director * Steven Fonti: Writer/Storyboard Director (1999) * Chris Mitchell: Writer/Storyboard Artist (1999) * Mike Bell: Writer/Storyboard Director (2005-) * Vincent Waller: Writer/Storyboard Artist & Director/Technicial Director (2005-) * Alan Smart: Animation Director * Tom Yasumi: Animation Director * Andrew Overtoom: Animation Director * Sean Dempsey: Animation Director Characters * SpongeBob SquarePants- A square sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He works at the Krusty Krab with his boring neighbor Squidward. * Squidward Tentacles- A hostile squid that lives in an Easter Island head between the domiciles of SpongeBob and Patrick. Although loved by the other characters, Squidward appears pessimistic and antisocial. * Patrick Star- A cheerful, naive and unintelligent starfish, who is SpongeBob's best friend. He lives under a rock to the right of Squidward's house. * Sandy Cheeks- Another friend of SpongeBob's, Sandy is an athletic squirrel from Texas. She wears an old spacesuit and lives in the "Treedome" so that she can survive Bikini Bottom's ocean environment. * Eugene H. Krabs- The money-addicted, miserly owner of the Krusty Krab. Commonly known as Mr. Krabs, he is SpongeBob and Squidward's boss. He lives in an anchor with his daughter Pearl, who is a whale * Gary- SpongeBob's pet snail, and thus meows like all snails on the show. He is very intelligent, as revealed in the episode "Sleepy Time". Gary actually wears shoes, and taught SpongeBob how to tie his shoes. Gary also has many other items stored in his shell. * Sheldon J. Plankton- The owner of the Chum Bucket and Mr. Krabs's main rival. He is determined to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula from The Krusty Krab and run Mr. Krabs out of business. Episodes Seasons Episodes: Movies Transcripts DVD References External links * SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki * Spongebob.com - a Spongebob official site. de:SpongeBob Schwammkopf (Serie) nl:SpongeBob SquarePants pl:Spongebob Kanciastoporty Category:SpongeBob SquarePants Category:Nicktoons Category:Programs broadcast by YTV Category:Children's television series Category:Animated shows on Nickelodeon Category:Live-action shows on Nickelodeon